Darkwings13: Reference to episode 361 of Naruto Shippuden for the Shuriken Shadow Clone training session :)
"Here are your grandchildren's clothes," Sarutobi murmured, handing over the three neatly folded outfits.
On the porch, Orochimaru watched solemnly as the old lady reached for the clothes and held them to her heart, her purple kimono fabric crinkling at the contact. Quietly, he said, "We've also got rid of all the oleander flowers around the surrounding beehives. Your brother-in-law confirmed that he was also responsible for them."
"Thank you so much... for everything." Her lips trembled slightly as she looked at him, Jiraiya and Tsunade. "Nothing could possibly express my gratitude to you and your sweet darlings. All we can offer besides payment of coin is a picnic that we've prepared for you."
Tsunade gasped as she held out a picnic basket containing a huge assortment of dishes. There was fresh sushi, glazed eggplants, steamy vegetable gyoza (dumplings), cooked tofu, sesame cucumber soba noodles, and squeezed juices. "That looks amazing granny Marui!"
"Yay free food!" Jiraiya hopped up and down with a grin.
Orochimaru watched as Jiraiya and Tsunade loudly cheered and grabbed the old couple by the hand, dragging them out of the house and towards the tall hill in the distance.
Sarutobi laughed, "You'd best hurry or else Jiraiya will eat everything." He gave his student a gentle push on the back and they all went to get the picnic started. Soon, everyone had a cup in one hand, a plate in the other and plenty of food in their mouth and stomach. Unfortunately, some of the food were also flying everywhere.
"Jiraiya, keep your mouth closed when you're eating!" Tsunade yelled as she dodged a falling piece of cucumber.
Swallowing, Jiraiya ignored her and continued his story. "So then, this big fish jumped out of the water and nearly bit my dad's hand off! It had two heads!" He then jumped to his feet and posed, nearly stepping on a cooked tofu dish. It was only thanks to Orochimaru's quick reflexes that saved the dish as he snatched it out of harm's way while he was drinking his tea. "But I, the great Jiraiya, with my quick and intelligent mind-"
At this part, Orochimaru choked on his drink. Holding a sleeve to his mouth, he watched as Jiraiya continued his terrible and exaggerated story. Here, under a cherry blossom tree, watching a gorgeous sunset with a full stomach and surrounded by warmth and peace, he felt himself relaxing. He knew that few missions would end up in such a happy way. Knowing this, he quietly stored away this precious memory, wanting to remember how his first C rank mission turned out, and how he and his teammates managed to give an old couple peace and happiness without losing their own innocence.
"And that's how I saved my dad and the village of the Leaf!"
Tsunade perked up in surprise when Orochimaru joined in, wearing a small smile on his face as he slowly clapped. She was amazed to see how his eyes had grown warm, reminiscent of the rare honey color she loved to see. It meant that he was genuinely happy.
Three months later...
"So tired," yawned Jiraiya. "Can we finish early today, sensei?"
Orochimaru gazed up at the blue sky blankly as Tsunade scolded him for being lazy. He had to admit, Jiraiya's desire to end early was understandable. They had been pushed pretty hard for the last two months. They were all good with walking up and down trees, and even jumping from one to another by now and were supposed to work on water walking in a day or so. Other than chakra control training, Tsunade was constantly working on her taijutsu by sparing with him, Jiraiya and their teacher. As for him, while he wasn't fighting with her, he worked on all of the techniques he had learned, memorizing all the hand seals and learning about the moves that he could counter his opponents with. This led to him reading books and scrolls on tactical strategies and he was constantly quizzed by their teacher on both techniques and battles from ages ago. In two weeks, he was going to move on to learn kenjutsu, sword techniques that he would rely on if he wanted to save up on chakra. As for Jiraiya... hilariously, he was coached to work on meditation and his fire techniques. The fire part he understood, but he wasn't sure what their teacher wanted when he instructed Jiraiya to meditate. He suspected that perhaps since he was so loud and noisy, meditation would help keep his emotions calm and help him in the future for spying missions.
"Listen up," Sarutobi said, wearing a smile as he stood before them with his arms crossed. At the same training ground where they had their bell test, they were standing in an open grassy section that was surrounded by trees for their training that day. Patches of the ground were missing chunks of grass from the constant scuffling of sandals or accidental fireballs that Jiraiya would belch out during his practice.
When all three of them had his undivided attention, he said, "Since my wife wanted me back early today, I've decided to take it easy on you three."
Jiraiya, as expected, jumped for joy. "Sweeeet!"
"Hmph."
"I guess I'll have time to go gambling today! Come with me Orochi!"
"Hmph."
The other two also gave expected answers. Sarutobi sighed before continuing. "Each of you, come at me and show me one new thing you've learned this week. If it's terrible, I'll tie you to the post for five hours."
Jiraiya gulped. It didn't help when Orochimaru and Tsunade looked over at him. "Hey!" He stuck his tongue out at them and rolled up his sleeves. "If it's anyone who'll get tied up, it'll be Orochimaru!"
Orochimaru's slender black eyebrow rose up in question. Beside him, Tsunade said in exasperation, "Not in a million years, Jiraiya."
"It will happen today," Jiraiya said smugly. "There's no way he can do something new and perfectly." When golden eyes narrowed in his direction, he said, "You've been cramming so many techniques into that big head of yours, that you can't possibly do one super well." He puffed out his chest and grinned. "I on the other hand, have been practicing only fire techniques. I am now a great specialist in it! Soon, I will be known as the Great Jiraiya, master of all fire techniques and the most handsome guy in the leaf village!"
Orochimaru did not look remotely interested in what his teammate was saying and Tsunade snorted in derision. Mentally facepalming, Sarutobi said, "Jiraiya... it doesn't matter if you've been practicing those fire techniques I've taught you. I've already seen them. I want something new."
"S-sure! I got a brand new fire technique I was wanting to show you anyways!" Jiraiya lied quickly.
"Right..." Sarutobi stood there and waited. When he didn't move, he said, "I'm waiting, Jiraiya."
The white hair boy immediately pointed to Tsunade. "Ladies first."
"Hey!" She kicked him in the shin. "I don't want to go first!"
"Ow!" Cradling his injured leg, he shouted, "Never mind sensei! Tsunade isn't a girl because she doesn't have any boobs!"
"I'LL KILL YOU-"
"I'll go first," Orochimaru interrupted. Slowly, he walked forward, reaching into the inside of his outfit. When he was about ten steps away from Jiraiya and Tsunade, he paused and eyed his teacher warily.
Sarutobi also dropped his smile, wondering what new technique Orochimaru had learned this week. Tsunade had the same thoughts but beside her, Jiraiya was wearing an 'I hope he doesn't show off anything cool' look.
Carefully, Orochimaru adjusted his stance, moving his legs and adjusting his feet for balance. In a flash, he whipped out a shuriken and threw it with blinding speed. Making four rapid hand seals, he said loudly, "Shuriken Shadow Clone technique!" Tsunade had already taught him how to make shadow clones a long time ago. When he saw his teacher performed that move a week before on some bandits on one of their escort mission, he returned home and practiced it. It only took three tries before he mastered it, so he never even needed to practice it during their training. Now was a good opportunity to present to his teacher that he was indeed, doing his best to learn and study on his own time.
Sarutobi perked up and smiled, clearly impressed. "He's already picked up one of my jutsu," he thought to himself happily, noting that Orochimaru not only did the hand seals incredibly fast, he also managed to turn one shuriken into seven, an indication of his prowess. Taking out his kunai, he batted away the projectiles.
Clearly, he wasn't the only one impressed. Tsunade raised up a fist, her eyes sparkling with admiration as she shouted, "Good one, Orochimaru!"
Jiraiya's eyes widened at her adoring compliment at their teammate, before frowning at Orochimaru, who didn't show much of a reaction to it. His nerves prickled at how Orochimaru was always acting so cool. What he didn't realize was that his friend wasn't at all happy with the results.
Inwardly, Orochimaru was disappointed. He had made ten shadow clone shurikens when he had practiced at home. This here, was only 70% of what he was actually capable of. So even though Sarutobi looked impressed and Tsunade was cheering for him, he didn't think he deserved it.
"I can do that too!"
Orochimaru glanced over as Jiraiya stomped his way forward and Sarutobi said in surprise, "What? You too, Jiraiya?"
Wearing a doubtful look, Orochimaru stayed quiet and watched. "Ehhhh?" Behind him, Tsunade put a hand on her hip, both amused and curious if Jiraiya could actually pull it off.
Finally, Jiraiya pulled a shuriken out from the inside of his outfit and threw it. Sarutobi narrowed his eyes in anticipation, his hand tightening over his kunai.
"Shu... Shuriken..." Making two clumsy hand seals, before digging his hands back into the inside of his outfit, he shouted, "Whatever Jutsu!" With that, he randomly tossed out a bunch of shurikens, his head raised dramatically up at the sky as if he was presenting his glorious self to his fans.
Orochimaru stared in disbelief while his teacher and Tsunade both froze and fell over in incredulity at what they had just witnessed. It was both so stupid and random, it was like seeing a flying pig or an Oonba stomping through your kitchen and all you could do was hit yourself in the face to see if you were dreaming. That was the logic he used when his teacher and Tsunade hit the grass, their limbs twitching.
Immediately, right after she got back to her feet, Tsunade punched Jiraiya on the head and said angrily, "What the hell was that dumbass?!" Orochimaru heard and he smiled in amusement.
"Who are you laughing at?!" Jiraiya said, holding his fist and glaring at the pale genius.
Orochimaru closed his eyes, still smiling as he said, "At the fool, of course."
"I'll beat your scrawny ass today if it's the last thing I do before I get tied to the log!" shouted Jiraiya.
"Stop it you two," Sarutobi said in exasperation as he restrained Jiraiya by grabbing under his arms and keeping a tight hold on him.
Jiraiya continued screaming his head off. "No! Let me go sensei! This is a man's honor that I have to fight for!"
Tsunade had her arms crossed and she said coolly, "You know that Sarutobi-sensei is restraining you only because he doesn't want to see you get beaten up by Orochi, right?"
"Shut up! I'm going to shove all of those shadow clone shurikens up his ass!" Jiraiya struggled even harder. "Then I'll master that technique and shove another twenty up there so that he'll choke on them if he smirks at me!" Sarutobi couldn't help but sweat drop and chuckle at Jiraiya's colorful language.
Orochimaru's smile widened. "You'll probably have to dig up my grave when that happens. By my calculations, it'll take you a hundred years, Jiraiya."
Ten minutes later...
Sarutobi sighed in amusement, leaning against a tree and watching as his students ran twenty more laps before they were allowed to head home. He decided that Jiraiya had suffered enough embarrassment and so, he spared him from getting tied to the log. Deciding not to push his luck, he obediently ran behind Orochimaru and Tsunade.
He had definitely created a fine team, he thought proudly. Their potential to grow was enormous. Not only that, he enjoyed the dynamics of the relationships that was blossoming before his eyes. Orochimaru, the genius, and star of the team were slowly becoming more open and more inclined to talk as time went on. His intelligence and talents were also not only attractive to him, as his teacher, but also to Tsunade. She was clearly very fond of Orochimaru and he knew that there was nothing truer then the saying that talent attracts people. Even without his crystal ball, he was positive that given more years, she would probably be crushing on Orochimaru. It was a common phenomenon he had seen many times before.
He also knew that men notice women. When they grow up alittle more, he was positive that he'd be seeing blossoming affections. It was obvious that Tsunade had caught Jiraiya's eyes on day one. At times, Tsunade showed appreciation for the boy's great golden heart as well. As for Orochimaru, he always had his nose buried in a book and was more interested in his studies. But it was clear he knew Tsunade well and they had a surprisingly close relationship. It wouldn't surprise him if Orochimaru ended up falling for the princess of the village. Just as she admired him for his genius, he respected her for her immense strength and intelligence.
"Rivalry matures both," he said lastly, wearing a small smile. Whether it be romance or ninja training, he trusted that his two boys would come to use the experience to grow stronger and grow closer.
"Augh! My back hurts!" Tsunade groaned as she, Orochimaru and Jiraiya strolled through the village, finished with today's training.
"Hey! Let's all go to the hot springs then. It'll help with soreness!" Jiraiya pointed excitedly at their village's hot spring in the distance.
Orochimaru shook his head. "You two go on ahead," he said listlessly. "I'm going to get dinner and then go study."
"Alright! See you tomorrow," Jiraiya said eagerly, looking absolutely delighted at getting to spend time with their female comrade alone.
Tsunade punched him. "I'd sooner step on ten rat traps than go to a hot spring with you."
"Fine, how about I just buy you dangos or something?" Jiraiya said, still looking hopeful.
Orochimaru smirked and turned on his heels. "Goodnight, hime, idiot."
Tsunade giggled and said to a pissed off Jiraiya, "From what you pulled today, you're matching the nickname more and more."
After some time, he passed by a bakery. He paused to admire all the beautifully made cakes, buns, cupcakes, and other sweet stuff that sat inside. He touched the sash tied around his waist, feeling the small coin pouch he stashed in it and headed inside. The shelves were lined with a wide variety of treats and fresh bread. The place was nice and warm and well decorated. Its owner had taste since the wall was a pale and tasteful pink with trimming of white. Tables of fresh and sweet bakery products sat around the place. Some were in wrapped cases and some were openly displayed. The pale orange scented candles around the place also gave off an elegant and comforting atmosphere.
Behind the counter, a young woman beamed at him with her warm brown eyes. Adjusting her chocolate hair that was tied up into a neat bun, she gestured to a tray of sweet buns. "These were made just five minutes ago, interested? We're also having a sale. If you buy more than three items, the fourth will be free."
He nodded politely in thanks and looked around. His eyes landed on a tray of monaka, thin crisp wafers sandwiching bean jam These were good for tea, something his teacher partook in regularly. Beside it was another tray of youkan with gold foils, a thick jellied dessert made of red bean paste, agar and alot of sugar. Tsunade was very fond of these. The way she ate them reminded him of a panda bear gorging itself on bamboo. Thinking about how tired she had been for the past days, he decided to get it. It would be good motivation for her if she sometimes got a treat for her efforts. At the same time, he couldn't help but think that he was encouraging her spoiled princess behavior. Walking over to another table, he cracked a smile when he saw a toad shaped sweet bun. Somehow, the eyes sorta reminded him of Jiraiya. "I'll take these three," he said, pointing to the three treats he wanted.
"Lovely," she said with a wide smile, running over with a pair of tongs. "Now, what would you like for your freebie sweetie?"
"Just a loaf of bread please," he replied. It would be good with his eggs for dinner that night.
Once he was finished paying, he walked out with his bag in hand and smiled at no one in particular. For some reason, he was actually alittle excited at the prospect of giving his teacher and teammates the sweets. Other than his parents, he had never given anyone else anything. It also made him feel slightly nervous thinking about it. What should he do? Just shove the sweets into their arms? Noting that it was getting late and that the streets were empty, he speeded up to return home. All of a sudden, someone ran past him and their hand got caught in the handle of his bag, sending his desserts and bread to the ground.
"Watch it!" The older looking boy grouched as he got off from the ground. From the insignia on his grey yukata, Orochimaru immediately realized that he was from the Uchiha clan.
Seeing his ruined bread and squashed box that held the three desserts, he replied thinly, "That will be 1600 ryo."
Brushing back his dark blue short hair, the boy scoffed. "You're asking me to pay you?"
"In case you're deaf, that is exactly what I asked for," Orochimaru replied coldly, looking up at the older boy as he walked over to him.
He grabbed a fistful of Orochimaru's white yukata and said, "Listen here, the Uchiha clan is one of the four noble houses of this village, and we are considered elites. Bugs like you should learn your place." He then snorted. "Oh I know you. That little show-off at the academy. Just because you read a few books and scrolls, you think you're special? You only got special treatment because you're an orphan who caught the bratty princess's eyes."
Orochimaru's snakelike eyes dilated to slits, the golden yellow turning poisonous. He knew that the rivalry between the Senju and Uchiha clan was still strong, but to outright insult Tsunade like this was inexcusable. "She's not a bratty princess."
"Heh. The one that gets freebies everywhere, including test scores and a spot on the Hokage's team? The same one that loses her temper at every little thing that doesn't go her way? If that's not being a spoiled bratty princess, then what do you call it?"
Orochimaru slammed his fist into the boy's jaw before grabbing onto his left hand and pushing his face up close to him. The same way a snake would strike, he yanked hard and pulled the arm out of its socket and twisted it at the same time, making sure to magnify the pain and reduce the chance of it healing properly.
"AUGH!"
Orochimaru watched calmly as the Uchiha went down on one knee and clutched at his shoulder, crying hard at the terrible pain. "If this is what you call elite, then what would your clan define as failure?" he retorted. Cocking his head, he regarded him coldly. "Now I remember. Akano Uchiha... you graduated this year in my class." He gave him a twisted smile. "Double my age, and yet you couldn't even block one move."
"Why you-"
Orochimaru lifted up his right leg and stomped down hard on the side of the side of Uchiha's knee, efficiently breaking the joint by rupturing the ligaments. "Don't be stupid. You should be begging, with the position you're in." His lips curved and he grinded down on the broken knee hard, making Akano scream. "Like you said, people should learn their place right? Stay down there, it suits you."
"Orochimaru..."
His heart stopped in his chest as he heard Tsunade called his name. She had her hands to her mouth in shock. Beside her, Jiraiya was also staring with wide eyes. Last but not least, was their teacher, holding two large bags of groceries. Sarutobi had run into his two students as he went to get some ingredients for hot pot and decided to ask them to join him and his wife for dinner. Tsunade had insisted on catching up to Orochimaru to invite him along and they had arrived just as they saw him dislocate the Uchiha's shoulder.
Sarutobi looked at his star pupil with disappointment. Gently, he handed over the groceries to Tsunade and Jiraiya. "Bring them back to my house please." Slowly, he walked over and picked up the crying boy and without looking at his student, he said quietly, "You are to wake at dawn and go clean the monuments on the Hokage mountain. There will be no missions for you for the rest of the month and your allowance from the village will be cut for the next half a year, Orochimaru."
He didn't move or make a sound as his teacher disappeared but he could feel a sudden stabbing pain in his chest at the cold words.
"Why did you do that?" asked Jiraiya, wearing a rare solemn expression.
"I did nothing wrong," he replied quietly, turning to leave. When Jiraiya grabbed his hand, he glared at him. "Don't forget what happened last time, Jiraiya," he threatened.
"I'll put a bruise on your face if you do that to him again," Tsunade said angrily, stepping and glaring up at him.
The words cut him. She had never taken someone's else side before. She had also never looked at him with such disappointment. Always, she had openly praised his achievement, called him a genius and cheered for him. But now... all he could see in her eyes was rejection. Hurt, he wrenched his arm free and said thickly, "Teammates... are supposed to take each other's side right?" When they didn't reply, he said, "You two and sensei would pick someone's else side, rather than me?"
"Because we saw you broke both his arm and knee and said those terrible things to him," protested Jiraiya.
"So what if I did?" Orochimaru snapped back, his eyes flashing. "Why would you care about someone you don't even know, instead of someone you call a friend?"
Tsunade screamed at him. "Because it's wrong you idiot!"
"Then we'll just have to agree to disagree," he said, growing more and more irritated with the conversation. He grabbed onto Tsunade's hand when she tried to punch him. Icily, he said, "Train for another five years, hime." He shoved her aside and disappeared.
"Hey!" Jiraiya jumped up and down angrily. "Get back here coward!" Hearing Tsunade sniff, he hurriedly went over to her side. "He-hey! Did he hurt you?"
She wiped at her eyes harshly and shook her head. "I don't know what to do with him sometimes." Looking at the ground, she said, "He must be getting worse, if he's breaking people's bones over snacks."
Jiraiya bent down and picked up the messed up box. Opening it, he looked at the three crushed desserts and sighed. "The guy doesn't even like sweets. What's gotten into him?"
Tsunade's eyes widened. He was right, Orochimaru never cared much for sweets or desserts at all. "Gimme that!" She snatched the box and looked down at it. When she saw the squashed youkan, she realized instantly that it was for her. Not only was it expensive since it had gold foils (he was a frugal person, he would never buy this for himself), only he knew how fond she was of these. She was always snacking on sweets but she had a preference for only a select few desserts. "Jiraiya, I... I think he bought this for us." Her throat tightened up as she realized this was the first time he's ever bought something for her. "Look, this toad looks like you."
Jiraya's jaw dropped to the ground. But then he said, "Hey! I don't look like a frog!"
Holding the pink box, she bit her lips. "I remember that Uchiha from class... Some are nice but he was a stuck up son of a-" When Jiraiya winced at her foul mouth, she said grumpily, "Orochimaru doesn't care about alot of things but I know that when he gets angry at someone, he has good reasons for it." Drumming her fingers on the box, she huffed, "What happened?"
"Why not just go ask him?" Jiraiya said in a matter of fact voice.
Tsunade immediately clobbered him. "We're his friends! Yet we..." She said sadly, "We immediately thought the worse of him without knowing anything. How can we possibly go ask for the full story from him?"
"I saw what happened."
The two jumped when a white hair boy with a long ponytail jumped down. Dressed in dark pants and a baggy shirt that was hugged with a gray vest, the boy's eyes were warm as he said, "I saw your friend coming out of that bakery shop a few minutes back while I happened to be taking a break from my training."
"Who are you?" asked Jiraiya.
"Sakumo Hatake," he answered politely.
Tsunade gasped. "Eh?! You look different!" The reason why she didn't recognize him was because he always wore a mask back at the academy. Although Orochimaru was the number one rookie, Hatake came in at a close second. The guy, if she remembered correctly, cared more about having fun with his friends than actually studying. He never tried very hard and was more content to let others take the spotlight.
Tsunade and Jiraiya listened intently as this boy told them what he had saw. When he finished, Tsunade fumed. "How dare he called Orochimaru like that and look down on him." She grinded on her teeth. Orochimaru actually got mad when that bastard called her a spoiled princess. He had even bought her a treat. After all this time, when he was finally beginning to open up... and they had to ruin everything.
"If you two truly care, he'll know it," said the white hair boy, still smiling. "Good luck, Miss Senju."
"Thanks for your help," Jiraiya said gratefully.
He waved at them as he leaped back up on a roof. "No problem. I just hate seeing comrades break up and it's better if you two tell the Hokage instead of me. I still have errands to run." He gave them another handsome smile before running off.
Grabbing Jiraiya by the fabric of his shirt, she began dragging him. "Come on! We have to tell sensei!"
"Hey! He-hey! We forgot his groceries!"
The next morning...
Orochimaru looked up emotionlessly. Even under the weak light of dawn, he could see the mess that awaited him. Some asshole decided to graffiti all three of the Hokage faces, making his job ten times more difficult. Hashirama now had a thick unibrow, Tobirama was sporting a pink blush that would rival that of a lovesick teen girl, and Sarutobi had a giant wart on his nose and a mustache. If he had to guess, it would probably be someone from the Uchiha clan who went to get revenge. With a bucket of water in hand and a mop in the other, he made to jump up when all of a sudden, he heard Jiraiya and Tsunade.
"Orochimaru!"
He turned his head and faced them with a deadpanned expression.
Jiraiya panted, breathing hard and bending over as he reached them. "I almost forgot to put on pants. Good thing we caught you." He grinned and held up his own bucket. "The Great Jiraiya is here to save you from chores!"
Tsunade grew nervous when her friend didn't speak or show any emotion at their arrival. She knew he must be furious with them and she took a step forward. Softly, she said, "We're sorry. We didn't know the whole story and just judged you." She reached out hesitantly and said, "When we found out, we went to tell sensei right away. But he couldn't lift your punishment or else the Uchihas might try and make it even worse for you. They're already whining that Sarutobi-sensei went easy on you." She then smiled and pointed up at the Hokage Mountain. "But we're not going to let you do this alone. We graffiti the monument and Sarutobi-sensei gave us the punishment of cleaning up as well. We'll be with you all the way, Orochimaru. I'll even stop gambling and help pay for your allowance loss."
"I'll give you the money from my missions," Jiraiya added.
Orochimaru didn't say anything, his face still blank. Finally, he began walking towards them. With a strike, he kicked over both of their buckets. Jiraiya shouted angrily, "What the hell was that for?!"
His eyes were cold as he said, "Can you recover all of the water that has been spilled?"
"What are you talking about-"
"Can you?" Orochimaru repeated, his voice harsh. "If you break something, can you really fix it?" He said thinly, "I don't need to have my hopes raised up just to be crushed. How do you expect me to ever believe in someone who doesn't understand or trust me in the first place?" But then he shook his head. "Not even. I wouldn't have questioned and immediately taken your side. Even if you two did something wrong, I would have defended you. But you two can't even do that for me." He turned his back on them. "Get out of my sight. I hate you both." With that, he jumped and ran up to Hashirama's rock head to begin cleaning.
Tsunade watched him leave, her heart heavy. Touching the necklace at her throat, she felt her eyes burn and soon, tears leaked out from her eyes. Jiraiya saw and he immediately panicked. "Tsunade!"
"We failed him," she sobbed. She knew how hard it was for him to form bonds. So the ones he did manage to form, was precious to him. From the judging in their voices to the rejection in their eyes, it was the equivalent of stabbing him in the heart. Even now, she could see how hurt he was. Pressing her hands to her eyes, she cried, "I've lost him... and its all my fault."
Jiraiya bit his lips and watched her cry, feeling terrible at the whole situation.
"I want Orochi back," she sobbed, never looking more like a little girl then she did now. It took her a year and a half for him to finally be this close to her. In just a few minutes, she had destroyed it all.
Darkwings13:
- In episode 361 of Naruto Shippuden, there's a clear current relationship established with the team. Hiruzen being impressed with Orochimaru, Tsunade admiring and supportive of him, and Jiraiya envious of him since he was crushing on Tsunade lol. With the way Orochimaru was amused by Jiraiya, and with how easily Tsunade complimented him, he was at ease with them. Important quote from Hiruzen that showcase the dynamics of the relationship he was seeing, was "Talent attracts people, men notice women, and rivalry matures both." Seeing as how he says that to Kakashi in the far far future while reminiscing about his kids, I'm guessing that Sarutobi did see those words come true, and that Orochimaru came to recognize Jiraiya as a rival and care for Tsunade. Will expand on this later on :) (Ofc, it's pretty much similar like Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura lmao)
-When Oro walked out of the bakery and was all happy and smiling, it's like how he walked in the Naruto ending song 'For You'. It's just too cute :3
- In episode 178 of Naruto, Tsunade was bribed by Naruto when he bought her youkan with gold foil. So I just decided to use that in this chapter as one of her favorite snacks xD
-Who knows what an oonba is from Naruto? ;D
-I noticed that Oro only did 16 D-rank missions while Jiraiya and Tsunade did much more. That and Hiruzen mentioned that he noticed malice and ambition in Orochimaru's eyes. This is why I wrote about what happened. :( Here we see malice, the ambition we'll see next chapter.
Haha hello JigokuShoujosRevenge! You're always one of the first to review xD thank you so much! Weird to admit but I was always intrigued by his crazy tongue lmao. It also amused me to think that once upon a time, he couldn't control it properly and got embarrassed. X) Kid Oro is just so cute...
Have another huggle TheAcceptance! :D Aha, thank you for your kind words my friend. I got inspired to write an origin story about Oro, since I've always found him incredibly complex and wanted to delve into his mind and descent into why he turned out the way he did. I'm glad you're enjoying my story. I've still got so much to improve x/D And you've nailed it my friend. Everything changes dramatically with Nawaki's death. As for Dan... bwahahhaha all I'm going to say is that Oro detested him. Not because of his personality really, but because he thinks Tsunade, who already lost her brother, should not put her heart at risk again by being with someone weak. That, and Dan wants to be Hokage, which conflicts with Oro. I also dislike Dan. Who the hell says the things he says to his girlfriend while he's dying? Like seriously, most would say I love you or live happy or it's not your fault, but he's just like "omg I don't wanna die I want to do a bunch of stuff still." Thanks for the pressure on Tsunade, Dan. Oh and sorry if I'm dwelling too long on their childhood. X) I promise that when they're alittle more grown up, it'll get really really good. (It's going to be hilarious to see how Orochimaru fails at romance. He's completely clueless about it. Hint hint teehee.).
Ah a double review! Omg hi ileangie23! Oh please no worries my friend. I'm so happy to just know you're reading the story. I'm glad to hear you were touched by the talk between Sarutobi and Orochimaru in the last chapter. :'( It is sad how we lose those we love to the poorest of reasons. It's one reason why Orochi worked so hard to become the wind to spin the windmill. He's tired of how unfair the world is to him. His parents deaths was just the beginning sadly... But yea, I totally imagined him as the tactician of the team as well. He's just too smart lol. Omg thank you so much for finding out for me my friend! 8D That's perfect! I'll use that information in my next chapter and write a thank you note in the beginning. :)